Shūkurō Tsukishima (Achrones150)
Shūkurō Tsukishima is the First Horseman of the Inner Circle and a former member of the human group XCution. In his conflict with Byakuya Kuchiki, he was slain and passed on to the Soul Society. After wandering the Rukongai, he was eventually found out by Suna Tekketsu out of interest of his abilities. After forcefully re-awakening his abilities, he is introduced into the Inner Circle as an apprentice to Suna. He makes his debut with the other Horseman at the end of Bleach: The Children of Izanami, where Inner Circle Dragon agent Meikurai Shiomaneki reports to them. Throughout Bleach: The War of Four, he appears with his Horsemen as shadowed entities in the background and watching events unfold. Sometime between, they are confronted by Sōsuke Aizen, who makes a pact with them in a mutual desire to overwhelm and rule the entirety of dimensions. They are the minds behind most of the incidents mentioned in the series, with him being personally being responsible for the Gotei 13 Captains forced to fight each other in the beginning of the Inner Circle's attack on Soul Society. Personality From the start of his debut, Tsukishima has shown himself to be nothing more than a cold and almost sociopathic individual. He carries himself generally in a polite, soft-spoken and mild-mannered fashion. Unlike the potential thoughts of his fellow Horsemen, he treats his subordinates courteously and makes it an effort to preserve their safety as much as possible. However, these emotions are genuine only to his comrades and false to his enemies courtesy of his manipulative nature. Even under the most extreme of circumstances, he rarely loses his composure and gives in to extreme emotions like anger and frustration. This stoicism can prove to be quite eerie, intimidating, and frightening when he is fighting his enemies or even speaking to them. Though he does make small talk with them, he makes it a habit to psychologically assault his target with words as they fight, often provoking the person he is speaking to within his favor. While his intelligence and excellent mindset is of great value to him, this can become one of his greatest weaknesses. Because of his ability to think several steps ahead of others, he can become prone to arrogance. In the event that he makes a crucial and uncorrectable mistake, he will begin to lose his calm composition in exchange for panic and alarm. The speed of transition depends on what is happening, but in either case, he can become much more terrifying. At the same time, he can become more vulnerable and easier to predict by more intelligent and perceptive enemies. This is true in the face of his closest comrades in dangerous situations he cannot save them from, with the most recent example being the death of his friend and former mentor Kūgo Ginjō. Kūgo's death is just one of several things that have plagued Tsukishima throughout his life within the Soul Society. He has a constant desire for camaraderie, although he doesn't allow himself to show it. He looks to this in the form of his fellow Horsemen, particularly in the case of Suna Tekketsu and Shikyo Ninaru. They are one of the few cases where he will also choose to actively seek out the best for their well-being, in contrast to lesser colleagues where he is more dispassionate. Despite him getting along easily with the two, he still misses his old comrades of XCution dearly and keeps them close to his heart. History See the canon article's plot line for details. Note that all canon material written on this page stops prior to the Thousand Year Blood War arc and possesses parts of the Vandenreich arc plot within. Synopsis *The War of Four: Courts and Circles *The War of Four: The Eye of the Storm *The War of Four: Recollection *The War of Four: Crossing the Wire *The War of Four: To the Victor Powers & Abilities Immense Spiritual Energy: As one of the four Horsemen and a student under the tutelage of Suna Tekketsu, Tsukishima possesses tremendous spiritual energy. Even by the current generation of Captain's standards, his power is overwhelming and dominating. It is claimed that he is capable of bringing any of the old generation of Espada down to their knees with just exertion of his spiritual pressure alone. Genius Intellect: Tsukishima is a rather crafty and cunning individual, well-versed in the art of tactics, strategy and manipulation. Ever since his death and presence within the Soul Society, he has begun to expand his knowledge on the afterlife as well as the Material World. It has become to the point where he is aware of things most others are not, giving him an upper hand in the case of his opponents. He has a good sense of character and is able to understand the psychology of individuals, allowing him to bend and break them to his will as he sees fit. Immense Strength: Despite his lean physique, Tsukishima possesses immense physical strength. A single and unrestrained sword swing can bifurcate multiple opponents at once, and multiple swings can clear out entire squadrons of opponents. He can slice through structures as tough as diamond without much effort, capable of cutting through all but the strongest of defenses. Single punches and kicks are capable of shattering bones into pieces like glass, making his hand-to-hand prowess all the more deadly. Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: As with his teacher, Tsukishima is very capable in the use of hand-to-hand combat. He is capable of quickly subduing and crippling opponents before they have time to react, even those of a Captain's level. He strikes with cold and tactical proficiency, aiming to disable and take down his opponent before they can effectively counter-attack. In conjunction with his sword-play, speed and strength, he can kill high-class enemies within seconds before a fight can even start. Master Swordsmanship Specialist: As a human, Tsukishima has shown himself to be a skilled fighter in the art of swordsmanship. His style was rather unpolished and self-taught, yet it proved enough to make him capable of fighting the likes of Ichigo Kurosaki, Kūgo Ginjō, and even Byakuya Kuchiki. Under Suna Tekketsu's training, this skill has increased to much more frightening levels. He can cut down even the likes of masters and break through their defenses with just a single swing of his sword and without much difficulty. Flash Steps Master: Even as a human, Tsukishima's speed has proven to be remarkable and only has increased after his training with Suna. He can overwhelm his opponents and strike them down within seconds before they react, even Captain-level opponents. Out of the four Horseman, his use of Flash Steps seem to have a psychological effect on his opponents when applied correctly. His frightening stoic demeanor, combined with his tremendous speed, can make for a deadly combination on his target's mind. He has honed his skills within this area to a degree where he can take great leaps of distance from one to another within milliseconds. Zanpakutō Memori (メモリ, Memory): In identity with his Fullbring, Memori takes the form of a katana with a slightly elongated hilt and a tassel at the bottom of said hilt. Tsukishima learned the name of his Zanpakutō when his expanding spiritual energy reserves still needed restraint, so it is a constant-release type Zanpakutō and has remained so even when Tsukishima gained mastery over his reiatsu. It retains its immense cutting edge, allowing it to slice through anything that crosses with it. :Shikai Special Ability: Memori's special ability is the use of memories against Tsukishima's opponent. :*'Kakinaosu' (書き直す, Rewrite): Tsukishima has the power to insert his very presence into someone else's memory upon cutting the person with his blade. When this ability is activated, the target does not experience injury when cut. He can fill the role of anyone within the affected's memory as he so desires, whether as a friend, lover, or even an enemy. His role can even usurp the roles and memory of others. If he cuts the same person twice, they return to normal. However, if the targets experience inconsistencies with the memories Tsukishima has provided, their mental stability will begin to wear away and the afflicted will start to experience a mental breakdown. Even the non-sentient is not immune to the abilities of Memori; if he cuts the environment, he can set traps for opponents as if they had been made long ago. By cutting through a person's attack or weapon, he is able to gain knowledge of all the person's techniques, saying that the knowledge becomes like seeing them so many times to the point "it's downright boring". However, if Tsukishima dies, the edited past will revert to the original state. :**'Teiden' (停電, Blackout): A long-range version of Kakinaosu. Tsukishima has to take the image of his targets as well as their mannerisms and characteristics fully into his mind and visualize them. His Zanpakutō will send a pulse to the targets' mind, carrying out the same traits as Kakinaosu would. The pulses he sends are nigh-undetectable, and the victims will continue to act normally. There is a much darker trait behind this ability, however; Tsukishima is able to directly speak to and command the affected into doing his bidding as he sees fit. Whenever he orders them to commit violent acts, their reiatsu takes on a much darker and menacing feel to it. Tsukishima can call off the ability at his will, and once he does, the afflicted will not be able to remember anything while under the "berserk" curse. *'Bankai:' Not yet revealed. Trivia References